STONERIDER – THREE LEGS OF TROUBLE: THE BEST TEN SONGS IZZY STRADLIN NEVER WROTE
StoneRider – Three Legs of Trouble (Trustkill)
If Izzy Stradlin had quit Guns N’ Roses directly after Appetite for Destruction, formed his own band and released an album of songs that sound like “Dust N’ Bones,” you might end up with something like what StoneRider have accomplished on Three Legs of Trouble. Three Legs of Trouble‘s ten mid-tempo songs of 3-4 minute Southern blues-rock slabs injected with a sleaze-rock, scarves-bandanas-and-vests sensibility would make Stradlin proud. With names like Neil “Staxxx” Warren and Champ Champagne and lyrics like “Hard Times, Fast Livin’, I got the Juice Man, Yeah I’m still livin’,” — the sleaze element forces itself into their otherwise straight Southern approach. And for the most part they’re damn good at it, though no one song on Three Legs of Trouble is a bonafide hit or anthem. Tasty blues licks constantly percolate under Matthew Tanner’s smoky vocals as the band drives ahead in 4/4 with their Les Pauls plugged into their cranked-to-11 Marshalls. Apparently these same band members used to comprise the still-Southern-but-more-metallicized Fight Paris, but the fact that they’ve included a cover of Nazareth’s “Hair of the Dog” this time around should give you a better idea of where the band members’ heads are at now. They should stick with it; it suits them quite well, and Three Legs of Trouble is a damn decent Rock N’ Roll record.
-VN
(three out of five horns)
